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2010 Currie Cup preview
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<blockquote data-quote="Teh Mite" data-source="post: 328084" data-attributes="member: 12332"><p>(Continued)</p><p></p><p><strong>Leopards</strong></p><p></p><p>The Leopards will be looking to cause some upsets this year after avoiding the drop to the First Division.</p><p></p><p>The men from Potchefstroom cemented their spot in the Currie Cup Premier Division after seeing off the SWD Eagles 47-42 at Olen Park, but narrowly lost the return game 18-17 in George.</p><p></p><p>After the two matches, the Leopards edged the Eagles on points difference, and they retain their spot in the top flight in 2010. For most of their history they've played in the second tier of the Currie Cup, but they were promoted to the Premier Division for the 2009 season.</p><p></p><p>The Leopards finished just off last place in the 2009 Currie Cup ending up just a point above Boland but truth be told they were far superior to the team from Wellington and actually competed fairly well in the second half of the tournament. They went down 24-61 to the Bulls in their final match but were right there until the break trailing 17-21 and were also resting a few players ahead of this clash, which showed some promising signs.</p><p></p><p>Leopards coach Chaka Willemse, too, is confident of a good season.</p><p></p><p>They have regained a few players who have recovered from injury and Willemse points to the fact his players now know what to expect at this level. Their two training matches to date, plus the warm-up win against the Griffons over the weekend, will stand them in good stead.</p><p></p><p>"We're happy to have survived, but there's a lot of hard work that lies ahead for us if we are to continue playing in the Premier Division," said Willemse.</p><p></p><p>"But the guys are confident and will be playing to stay in the Premier Division again this year. I said all along that we would need to stay in the Premier Division for a couple of seasons before we got victories over some of the other unions. Hopefully in 2010 we'll achieve that."</p><p></p><p><strong>Pumas</strong></p><p></p><p>First Division champions the Pumas return to the Premier Division for the first time since 2006, after winning their promotion/relegation match against Boland last year.</p><p></p><p>After losing in Wellington by one point - thanks to a last-minute penalty try - they then thumped Boland 40-3 in Witbank to gain entry to top flight rugby again.</p><p></p><p>The Mpumalanga outfit were unbeaten at home throughout their 2009 campaign in the First Division and have already shown in a warm-up match against the Lions they will be a handful.</p><p></p><p>Often seen as the underdogs of South African rugby, the Pumas have also been proclaimed dark horses at times and have the ability to upset the applecart on their home turf.</p><p></p><p>They have newcomer Terry Jacobs - a former Western Province wing - to cause some damage out wide, while Springbok Sevens player Shaun Venter is back in the 15-man game. Former Lions' Super 14 players Hannes Franklin and scrum-half Jacques Coetzee are also back in the Pumas frame.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Sharks</strong></p><p> </p><p> The Sharks have an opportunity to make up for their disappointing Super 14 campaign by doing well in this year's Currie Cup, where their die-hard fans will expect nothing less than a place in the final. Easier said than done!</p><p> </p><p> The men from Durban let themselves down in the last minute of the Currie Cup semi-final last year and won the ***le the year before, so they're certainly capable of having a good campaign.</p><p> </p><p> Coach John Plumtree has to make do without five of his Test players off on Tri-Nations duty, while injuries have also ruled out another five Springboks - nine Sharks in all - although they do have a fair bit of experience in the team still.</p><p> </p><p> Sharks number eight Willem Alberts (ankle) and Jean Deysel (wrist) had to undergo surgery after the Super 14, which has ruled them out of early contention for the Currie Cup. While the Boks have three of the Sharks front rowers aside from Bismarck du Plessis who is injured, but he'll be back and play for them at some stage of the competition which will give Plumtree some experience up front especially.</p><p> </p><p> In the meantime, Plumtree must now rely on a handful of Super 14 stars, such as loose forwards Keegan Daniel and Jacques Botes, scrum-half Rory Kockott and full-back Stefan Terblanche as well as new recruit, Ross Skeate, who will lock in for the Sharks after a stint with French club Toulon.</p><p> </p><p> He also has Bok Alistair Hargreaves at lock but he still has to make his mark at provincial level. The Sharks have been bolstered by the presence of former Lions full-back Louis Ludik after a serious knee injury and fly-half Steve Meyer's turnabout after his retirement could be the solution to the team's fly-half problems.</p><p> </p><p> The Sharks have played two warm-up matches, registering an 80-3 victory over the Falcons and saw off a fired up Sharks U21 outfit with relative ease in their final match preparation scenario.</p><p> </p><p> The men in black and white kick-start their campaign against Griquas away from home, but regardless of the venue, the Sharks know that they will have to target wins wherever they play if they wish to make an impact from the start and end 2010 on a high.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Western Province</strong></p><p> </p><p> Western Province will want nothing more than to continue rewarding their loyal fans by advancing to their first Currie Cup final in nine years.</p><p> </p><p> It's taken nearly a decade of trying, but 2010 could finally be the year where the men in blue and white hoops bring the country's much coveted silverware back to Cape Town. The last time Western Province lifted the most prestigious prize in South African domestic rugby was in 2001, when they beat the Sharks 29-24.</p><p> </p><p> Semi-finalists last year, Province were three minutes away from finals glory before a high tackle by Sireli Naqelevuki on Bryan Habana allowed Morne Steyn to kick the winning penalty and deny the home side at the death.</p><p> </p><p> Having reached the Super 14 final under the guise of the Stormers, expectations will be high in the Cape and rightly so. However, just like the Blue Bulls and Sharks, coach Allister Coetzee will have his depth tested early on - especially in the back-line - with six backs and three forwards away in Australasia.</p><p> </p><p> Western Province have not only lost their Boks for the greater part of the competition, but will also be without full-back Joe Pietersen (Europe) and fly-half Peter Grant (Japan). On the plus side, they have near-forgotten Spring-bok fullback Conrad Jantjes back after more than a year's injury lay-off. Winger Nick Koster is also fit and raring to go - but he will only be used as the impressive number eight he was before being moved to wing.</p><p> </p><p> "With a couple of our senior players doing national duty, a number of junior players have joined our squad, and we've also worked on getting them up to speed in terms of game planning and preparation," said Coetzee.</p><p> </p><p> In Province's only warm-up before the competition starts this weekend, flank Pieter Louw scored a hat-trick in a 29-5 win over the Griffons in their friendly in Welkom. Four of Western Province's five tries came from mauls and, while they will be pleased with the performance of their forwards, there was very little to be seen of the Province back-line.</p><p> </p><p> They open their campaign against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, and know an improved performance is necessary against last year's finalists. </p><p> </p><p> <a href="http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16016_6250230,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16016_6250230,00.html</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Teh Mite, post: 328084, member: 12332"] (Continued) [B]Leopards[/B] The Leopards will be looking to cause some upsets this year after avoiding the drop to the First Division. The men from Potchefstroom cemented their spot in the Currie Cup Premier Division after seeing off the SWD Eagles 47-42 at Olen Park, but narrowly lost the return game 18-17 in George. After the two matches, the Leopards edged the Eagles on points difference, and they retain their spot in the top flight in 2010. For most of their history they've played in the second tier of the Currie Cup, but they were promoted to the Premier Division for the 2009 season. The Leopards finished just off last place in the 2009 Currie Cup ending up just a point above Boland but truth be told they were far superior to the team from Wellington and actually competed fairly well in the second half of the tournament. They went down 24-61 to the Bulls in their final match but were right there until the break trailing 17-21 and were also resting a few players ahead of this clash, which showed some promising signs. Leopards coach Chaka Willemse, too, is confident of a good season. They have regained a few players who have recovered from injury and Willemse points to the fact his players now know what to expect at this level. Their two training matches to date, plus the warm-up win against the Griffons over the weekend, will stand them in good stead. "We're happy to have survived, but there's a lot of hard work that lies ahead for us if we are to continue playing in the Premier Division," said Willemse. "But the guys are confident and will be playing to stay in the Premier Division again this year. I said all along that we would need to stay in the Premier Division for a couple of seasons before we got victories over some of the other unions. Hopefully in 2010 we'll achieve that." [B]Pumas[/B] First Division champions the Pumas return to the Premier Division for the first time since 2006, after winning their promotion/relegation match against Boland last year. After losing in Wellington by one point - thanks to a last-minute penalty try - they then thumped Boland 40-3 in Witbank to gain entry to top flight rugby again. The Mpumalanga outfit were unbeaten at home throughout their 2009 campaign in the First Division and have already shown in a warm-up match against the Lions they will be a handful. Often seen as the underdogs of South African rugby, the Pumas have also been proclaimed dark horses at times and have the ability to upset the applecart on their home turf. They have newcomer Terry Jacobs - a former Western Province wing - to cause some damage out wide, while Springbok Sevens player Shaun Venter is back in the 15-man game. Former Lions' Super 14 players Hannes Franklin and scrum-half Jacques Coetzee are also back in the Pumas frame. [B]The Sharks[/B] The Sharks have an opportunity to make up for their disappointing Super 14 campaign by doing well in this year's Currie Cup, where their die-hard fans will expect nothing less than a place in the final. Easier said than done! The men from Durban let themselves down in the last minute of the Currie Cup semi-final last year and won the ***le the year before, so they're certainly capable of having a good campaign. Coach John Plumtree has to make do without five of his Test players off on Tri-Nations duty, while injuries have also ruled out another five Springboks - nine Sharks in all - although they do have a fair bit of experience in the team still. Sharks number eight Willem Alberts (ankle) and Jean Deysel (wrist) had to undergo surgery after the Super 14, which has ruled them out of early contention for the Currie Cup. While the Boks have three of the Sharks front rowers aside from Bismarck du Plessis who is injured, but he'll be back and play for them at some stage of the competition which will give Plumtree some experience up front especially. In the meantime, Plumtree must now rely on a handful of Super 14 stars, such as loose forwards Keegan Daniel and Jacques Botes, scrum-half Rory Kockott and full-back Stefan Terblanche as well as new recruit, Ross Skeate, who will lock in for the Sharks after a stint with French club Toulon. He also has Bok Alistair Hargreaves at lock but he still has to make his mark at provincial level. The Sharks have been bolstered by the presence of former Lions full-back Louis Ludik after a serious knee injury and fly-half Steve Meyer's turnabout after his retirement could be the solution to the team's fly-half problems. The Sharks have played two warm-up matches, registering an 80-3 victory over the Falcons and saw off a fired up Sharks U21 outfit with relative ease in their final match preparation scenario. The men in black and white kick-start their campaign against Griquas away from home, but regardless of the venue, the Sharks know that they will have to target wins wherever they play if they wish to make an impact from the start and end 2010 on a high. [B]Western Province[/B] Western Province will want nothing more than to continue rewarding their loyal fans by advancing to their first Currie Cup final in nine years. It's taken nearly a decade of trying, but 2010 could finally be the year where the men in blue and white hoops bring the country's much coveted silverware back to Cape Town. The last time Western Province lifted the most prestigious prize in South African domestic rugby was in 2001, when they beat the Sharks 29-24. Semi-finalists last year, Province were three minutes away from finals glory before a high tackle by Sireli Naqelevuki on Bryan Habana allowed Morne Steyn to kick the winning penalty and deny the home side at the death. Having reached the Super 14 final under the guise of the Stormers, expectations will be high in the Cape and rightly so. However, just like the Blue Bulls and Sharks, coach Allister Coetzee will have his depth tested early on - especially in the back-line - with six backs and three forwards away in Australasia. Western Province have not only lost their Boks for the greater part of the competition, but will also be without full-back Joe Pietersen (Europe) and fly-half Peter Grant (Japan). On the plus side, they have near-forgotten Spring-bok fullback Conrad Jantjes back after more than a year's injury lay-off. Winger Nick Koster is also fit and raring to go - but he will only be used as the impressive number eight he was before being moved to wing. "With a couple of our senior players doing national duty, a number of junior players have joined our squad, and we've also worked on getting them up to speed in terms of game planning and preparation," said Coetzee. In Province's only warm-up before the competition starts this weekend, flank Pieter Louw scored a hat-trick in a 29-5 win over the Griffons in their friendly in Welkom. Four of Western Province's five tries came from mauls and, while they will be pleased with the performance of their forwards, there was very little to be seen of the Province back-line. They open their campaign against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, and know an improved performance is necessary against last year's finalists. [url]http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16016_6250230,00.html[/url] [/QUOTE]
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